Japanese investors show appetite for real estate
Japanese investors are expected to play an increasing role in the global infrastructure and real estate market as its institutional investment environment is undergoing a major transformation, AMP Capital’s analysis said.
According to AMP Capital’s managing director, Japan, Toshiaki Yamashita, both retail and institutional investors in Japan, who were traditionally seen as conservative, were encouraged by the government’s policies to shift from deposits to investments trusts.
Following this, the investors would be expected to seek the consistent income streams that may be offered by real estate investments, according to the study.
Yamashita stressed that Japanese institutional investors showed a clear preference for assets with lower risk and which could generate a low to mid- single-digit yield.
At the same time, the retail investors in Japan were early adopters of listed infrastructure.
According to AMP Capital, one of the target markets for Japanese investors seeking income yield might also be US real estate investment trusts (REITs) since Japan was the second biggest market for asset exchange-traded fund flow in 2016 in listed real estate and the Bank of Japan increased its allocation to Japanese REITs.
AMP Capital’s global head of infrastructure debt, Andrew Jones, said: “The largest proportion of investors with a preference for unlisted infrastructure debt is based in Asia and we see a significant growth opportunity in the market”.
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